1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to ladder leveling devices. Specifically, this invention concerns a simple ladder leveler which slides onto either leg of a ladder, slides underneath and around rungs of said ladder, and is adjustable in length.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art teaches numerous devices for leveling ladders. Batten (U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,797), Meehan (U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,814), Talley (U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,603), Cordell (U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,471), Smith (U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,631), Easton (U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,406), and Erion (U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,689) are amongst the numerous patented leveling devices. Batten teaches a leveler guide secured onto a ladder leg and with a leveler leg fitting within the guide. The leveler guide and leveler leg have pin holes for the insertion of a pin in order to hold the leveler leg in fixed position relative to the leveler guide. Batten's device, however, is secured to said ladder leg by screws or clamps and is therefore not easily removed from the ladder leg. Furthermore, Batten's device is secured onto only one side of a ladder leg and therefore does not provide much resistance in case the ladder leans to the left or right.
Meehan teaches a ladder leveling device for connecting to a ladder leg of a ladder and having a mechanism for locking onto and unlocking off the ladder. Meehan's device, however, does not have an adjustable leveler leg. Also, Meehan like Batten is connected only to one side of a ladder leg and therefore does not provide much resistance in case the ladder leans to the left or right.
Talley teaches an adjustable ladder leveler which slides onto a leg of a ladder. A pin is inserted through a pin hole in the ladder leveler and a pin hole on the ladder leg. The Talley device requires the ladder leg to have pin holes; therefore, a ladder needs to be modified before the Talley device can be utilized--a cumbersome requirement. Furthermore, the entire device needs to be detached from the ladder in order to adjust the leveler.
Cordell's ladder leveling device is similar to Batten's device. Cordell teaches a ladder leveler attached to a ladder leg and with an adjustable inner leveler leg secured onto said leveler by a pin or pin-like means. Cordell like Batten is connected to only one side of the ladder leg and does not provide much support in case the ladder leans left or right.
Smith teaches a simple adjustable foot extension held close to a ladder leg. The leg extension, however, is relatively short and is therefore limited to leveling ladders on slight inclinations. Furthermore, the leg extension is fixed directly on a ladder, therefore, the entire device has to be manipulated in order to adjust the leg extension.
Easton and Erion also teach ladder levelers. Easton teaches a leveler device with an elongated side leg slidable within a U-shaped channel member connected to a ladder leg. The elongated side leg may be clamped onto the U-shaped channel member at a plurality of points. The Easton device, however, is not easily fixed onto a ladder being leveled nor easily disconnected from the ladder.
Erion teaches a ladder leveler device which surrounds a ladder leg, the ladder leg and leveler device have pin holes for the insertion of a pin in order to secure the device to the ladder leg. Thus, Erion teaches modification of a ladder before the ladder can be leveled by the leveling device. Furthermore, the Erion device is not easily adjustable, because the device needs to be detached from the ladder before adjusting.
Up to the point of this invention no ladder leveler device has been disclosed which is easily attached to and detached off a ladder, is secured onto the ladder without altering the ladder in any way, may be adjustable in length without removing the leveler device from the ladder, clips onto the rungs of a ladder, and provides resistance to a ladder leaning to the right or left.
Another problem with leveling ladders is how to avoid the foot of a ladder leg (if a ladder leg has a foot). Often the foot of a ladder is large and wide, therefore, ladder leveling devices extend away from a ladder to avoid the foot. No device hugs the face of the ladder leg and at the same time avoids or clears the foot.